PRESS RELEASE: BMI ADVANCES EXPLORATION PROGRAM TOWARDS DRILLING
• Strong community and government engagement across BMI’s exploration area.
• BMI’s first Exploration Licence awarded by the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG).
• Land Access and Compensation Arrangements completed and Social Mapping commenced to confirm individual and traditional land ownership ahead of exploration activities.
• Historical exploration data and airborne magnetic survey data have identified multiple prospective copper-gold and epithermal targets.
• BMI is now preparing to engage a leading PNG geological consultancy to independently ground-truth the data and define priority drill targets.
Bougainville Mineral Investments Limited (BMI) is progressing towards the next stage of exploration at its Bougainville project site following completion of a series of important community, government, land access and technical milestones.
BMI is working to establish a responsible resources business in Bougainville, one of the Pacific region’s most prospective copper-gold geological environments.
The Company has completed extensive community awareness and engagement across its Exploration Licence area and secured landholder consents. A Land Access and Compensation Agreement has also been completed, providing an agreed framework for BMI’s exploration activities.
Social mapping has now commenced to further identify and confirm individual, family and tribal interests in land within the Exploration Licence area.
BMI Managing Director Justin Haines said establishing community acceptance and an effective working relationship with landowners had been fundamental to the Company’s approach from the outset.
“Before we put a drill rig on the ground, we need to know that the communities whose land we are working on understand what we are doing, support the process and have a genuine role in it,” Mr Haines said.
“BMI has invested considerable time in building those relationships. The Exploration Licence, land access arrangements and commencement of social mapping represent important milestones and provide a strong foundation from which we can now advance the technical exploration program,” said Mr Haines.
“BMI has also established constructive working relationships with the Autonomous Bougainville Government at both political and departmental levels, with no material issues raised as the Company has progressed its activities within Bougainville’s regulatory framework,” he said.
BUILDING THE TECHNICAL CASE
In parallel, BMI has compiled and analysed extensive historical geological and exploration information covering its project area.
That work has been supplemented by the Company’s access to recently flown airborne magnetic survey data.
BMI’s current project portfolio includes a number of prospective porphyry copper-gold and epithermal gold-copper targets.
The Company’s existing technical assessment has identified 4–5 significant porphyry copper-gold targets and 2–3 epithermal gold-copper targets for further investigation.
Bougainville forms part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which hosts many of the world’s major porphyry copper-gold deposits. The broader region hosts globally significant mineral systems including Panguna, Lihir and Simberi.
BMI’s next technical step is to engage a leading PNG geological consultancy to undertake a comprehensive Ground Truthing Study to independently validate BMI’s historical and geophysical datasets in the field, examine priority geological targets and assist in defining locations for the Company’s planned drilling program.
Mr Haines said the work represented the transition from assembling and analysing historical information towards testing the opportunity on the ground.
“There is a considerable body of historical geological information available, and we have now combined that with modern airborne magnetic data to develop a much clearer picture of the priority exploration targets,” Mr Haines said.
“The next step is straightforward: put experienced independent geologists on the ground, validate what the data is telling us and identify the highest-priority targets for drilling,” he said.
“Our approach is deliberately methodical. Build the community relationships first, establish land access, understand the historical geology, apply modern exploration data and then test the best targets,” said Mr Haines.
EXPLORATION BASE ESTABLISHED AT IOKOMORE
BMI has established a fully equipped exploration camp at Iokomore to support its expanding field program.
The facility includes full sample preparation and storage capabilities, enabling geological samples collected during field programs to be prepared for dispatch to accredited Australian laboratories for analysis. A retained sample library will also be maintained at Iokomore, providing an important permanent geological reference as exploration progresses.
NEXT STEPS – TOWARDS DRILLING
Following completion of the Ground Truthing Study and identification of priority drill locations, BMI plans to advance to its first targeted drilling program.
The Company will continue its community and landholder engagement throughout each stage of exploration. BMI will also continue its program of donating much-needed medical equipment to Buka Hospital.
Mr Haines said BMI’s objective was to demonstrate that modern mineral exploration and strong community relationships can advance together.
“Bougainville has extraordinary geological potential, but developing a modern resources industry here must be about considerably more than geology,” Mr Haines said.
“BMI will demonstrate that exploration can be undertaken responsibly, transparently and in genuine partnership with Bougainville’s people,” he said.
ENDS
